Trainer: Lily
by Trainer Lily
Summary: At age 15 Lily is finally ready to start her journey as a Pokemon Trainer, but with a disapproving mom will the cost be too much? With her Eevee, Lily's beloved but inexperienced pet, and her new found friends Kouta and Clara, Lily begins her adventure through the Kanto region. To join the ranks of Pokemon League champions is her ultimate goal!
1. The Girl with Two Starter Pokemon

**A/N: 1. Male and female Pokemon usually look the same, if not marginally different, but I'm writing this under the assumption that trainers with a decent eye can spot the difference anyway. **

**2. I like starter Pokemon, so expect Lily to have them. **

**3. For Pokedex entries, I'll be using the video game ones. I picked anime world simply because the anime is more "loose" as far as fighting. In the games that I love dearly the stats determine who wins. In the anime, there's a lot more freedom which is how I want to write the battles. **

Trainer: Lily  
Chapter 1: The Girl with Two Starter Pokemon

"Hello?"

"Lily, is that you? It's Professor Oak."

"Yes, it's me. Good morning, Professor Oak."

"Am I still to see you at precisely eleven?"

"Yes, I haven't changed my mind." _Not yet, at least._

"Excellent, and it was a Squirtle you requested, corrected?"

"Yes, please."

"Wonderful choice. I think a Squirtle will suit you just fine. I will see you soon then, Lily."

"See you soon, Professor."

With their meeting confirmed Lily Rockwell hung up the phone, resuming stroking her Eevee's back. The Pokemon was resting on her lap, snug with her head against her abdomen. The feel of Eevee's smooth brown fur under Lily's fingers had always been a comfort to the young girl. Today, though, her fingers were trembling as she stroked her. She adjusted Eevee's yellow ribbon, tied into a dainty bow on the back of her neck.

Eevee had been a gift from her sister, Mari-Beth, for her tenth birthday. She'd be so small when she arrived, a little ball of fur wearing the yellow ribbon she still wore to this day. Eevee was Lily's most beloved companion now, but at the time she had seemed like a consolation prize. Their mother, Charlotte, had opposed Lily's desire to become a Pokemon trainer and Lily had much preferred a starter Pokemon to this small, fuzzy little thing. Her feelings toward her friend were drastically different five years later.

A knock on her bedroom door alerted her. "Come in," Lily said.

It was Nate Rockwell, Lily's father. Lily took after him, having inherited his dark brown hair and gray eyes. Thankfully, Lily always thought, she had not inherited his poor eyesight. Nate wore glasses, Lily didn't. She did, however, also inherit his absolute love for Pokemon and dream of becoming a Pokemon Master.

She wasn't sure if inheriting _that_ had been a blessing or a curse.

"Are you all packed?" he asked her.

"Yes."

"And your Squirtle has been set aside for you?"

"Yes, I was just on the phone with Professor Oak."

Nate smiled, beaming with pride. Lily was about to live his dream. "Excellent. Those trainers won't know what hit them," he said and then shut the door to Lily's bedroom.

Lily had been living with her mother in Viridian City, her parents having divorced when Lily was seven. Charlotte and Nate disagreed on everything, but their ultimate disagreement occurred when Nate continually pushed Lily to start her journey as a Pokemon trainer when she turned ten, and Charlotte opposing it. Lily, her mother, and Mari-Beth were extremely close and Nate was never around much after the divorce.

But every year Nate would visit her in Viridian City and the two of them would watch, Lily in complete and utter awe, the Pokemon League Tournament. Nate had always had a special closeness to his younger daughter. Mari-Beth appreciated Pokemon, but she wasn't passionate about it. She'd gone onto college, earned her degree, and proceeded to move to Celadon City after landing a job in the fashion field there.

A year ago, when Lily was fourteen, Lily moved to Pallet Town to live with her father. Charlotte was redoing much of the house and Lily had told her she didn't want to be a burden, but both of them knew the truth. Lily was looking for an excuse to move to Pallet Town so that she could be one step closer to starting her journey. It wasn't as easy as just moving, though. Lily didn't want to betray her mother even if being a trainer was her one true dream. After many debates, going back and forth between Nate and Charlotte, Lily's mother finally gave her a reluctant okay. It wasn't much, but it was enough for Lily. She was still having doubts, not wanting to betray her mother.

At five minutes to eleven, Lily packed away the lost of her belongings. She'd packed a tent and other camping items, pokeballs, and other necessities. She placed Eevee on the ground gently. She whined softly and followed Lily to the door. Lily bent down and scratched Eevee's favorite spot, her cream colored mane. She'd trained with Pokemon before and Nate had taught her the basics of Pokemon battles, but Eevee had always been a pet. She had no idea had how to fight and Lily cared for Eevee far too much to push her.

"I'm sorry, Eevee," Lily said. "I promise I'll come visit you all the time, and Dad promised to take good care of you. I trust him to do that."

"_Eevee," _she whined, brushing her head against Lily's knee.

"This is goodbye, but only for now. I swear by it." Lily glanced at the clock again. She still had to say goodbye to her dad. It was time to go.

* * *

_"Snorlax, Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Dratini, Dragonair, Dragonite, Mewtwo, Mew. _That's it! All 151 Pokemon of the first generation!" Clara stated with immense pride. No one was there. Her roommate, who found her extremely irritating and was thrilled to see her go, was out. Every morning before Clara started her day, she stood in front of her mirror and recited all 151 Pokemon in numerical order and, yes, she _was _proud of being able to do that so effortlessly. Thank you very much.

She lived in a complex along with all the other female students studying with Professor Oak. At least, this was where she used to live. Now she was all packed and ready to go. Clara returned her room key to the front desk and then headed across Pallet Town to see Professor Oak for some last minute advice. But Clara had more in mind. She planned on asking Professor Oak for a starter Pokemon.

As she headed to his lab she ran into Kouta. Professor Oak had announced a few months ago that he wanted to select one male and one female for this internship. Kouta was the male he'd selected. The internship required both students to take the newly updated Pokedex and fill it completely for him. They were also required to bring back data that was to be collected through exceptionally thorough research. It was the opportunity of a lifetime. Not even new trainers were given this new edition of the Pokedex yet.

"Kouta!" Clara exclaimed in greeting.

Kouta acknowledged her greeting with a simple nod. He was a quiet student with dark brown, nearly black hair, fair skin, and brown eyes, who liked to keep to himself. Clara didn't know him all that well, but figured now was as good a time as any.

The two students walked into Professor Oak's laboratory together and walked upstairs to where they were told to meet him.

"Professor?" Clara called when they got upstairs.

"In the back," Professor Oak called. Clara and Kouta followed his voice.

He smiled as a greeting. In either hand he held two brand new, up to date Pokedexes. It was the newest model, more rectangular than square shaped and with a bigger screen, given exclusively to these two students. The older model was for the new trainers. Kouta and Clara eyed them eagerly.

"Alright you two I'll make this quick. I'm sure you're both ready to grab these and start your journey, and I have a new trainer on her way here soon anyway."

As Professor Oak explained the new features of his Pokedex-it was faster, capable of recording more data than ever before, was now equipped with a search engine, and had information on the newly discovered and mysterious Mew and Metwo- he studied his students carefully.

He'd made the right decision, Professor Oak realized. Clara Connors, a fifteen-year-old girl, was definitely the best female candidate for this internship. Few were as passionate and enthusiastic about Pokemon as she was and she had a quick, wickedly sharp mind that was perfect for the battlefield. As for Kouta Marson, who was sixteen, he was like a walking Pokedex himself. He could record, remember, and recite statistics about Pokemon better than anyone else he knew.

_Other than me,_ Professor Oak reminded himself with satisfaction.

"That's it then. Here you are," he said and handed his two interns their respective Pokedexes. Kouta and Clara immediately flipped them open.

"This is amazing, Professor Oak!" exclaimed Clara.

"I'm glad you like it."

"I just have a question," she said. "I was wondering if possibly…could I have a starter Pokemon, please?" she blurted, getting straight to the point.

Professor Oak eyed her curiously. "You're not taking any Pokemon with you?"

Clara blushed. "I don't own any Pokemon, Professor. I never have." Up until this point Clara had been too afraid of hurting her Pokemon. When she was a kid she'd had a pet fish-not a _Pokemon_, just a regular fish-and she'd forgotten to feed it. How could she raise a Pokemon if she couldn't even take care of a simple fish? Now, though, her whole life was about to change. Clara was willing to take risks.

"Kouta, do you have at least one Pokemon to take with you on this journey?" Professor Oak asked.

Kouta, up until this point, had been intently studying his Pokedex. "Yes, I'm taking my Growlithe with me."

"Well, it's dangerous to travel in some areas without a Pokemon by your side, and I want you two to travel those areas for this internship. I suppose I could give you a starter Pokemon."

"Yes! Thank you!"

Clara followed Professor Oak into the room where he stored Pokemon. "I'm afraid the morning rush already happened and we're all out of Charmanders and Bulbasaurs. We do, however, have two Squirtles left.

"But, Professor, there's only one Pokeball here," Clara said with a frown, examining the area where Squirtles were stored.

Professor Oak narrowed his brow. "That's rather unfortunate. I guess one of my assistants give the other one away. This Squirtle is reserved for my new trainer, Clara. I'm sorry. In fact she should be here in," Professor Oak glanced at his wristwatch. "…she was supposed to be here ten minutes ago."

"And you have no other Pokemon you could give me?"

"No, the starter Pokemon are specifically handed out to trainers. All the other Pokemon are here for other uses."

Clara worried her lip, her mind working fast. This was her dream. She wasn't going to delay that. She stared at the Pokeball hungrily. That Squirtle was hers.

"Professor!" she exclaimed suddenly. "That girl, the one who was supposed to pick up this Squirtle, I heard she decided she changed her mind. She doesn't want to be a Pokemon trainer anymore."

Professor Oak frowned. "Where did you hear that?"

"From her!" Clara invented wildly. She could hear how deceitful and petty she sounded, but couldn't seem to stop herself. "I heard it from her. I ran into her on my way here and she told me she was heading home again."

Professor Oak glanced at his watch again. Lily was now fifteen minutes late. On top of that, the girl was quite indecisive. It'd taken her a year just to decide she'd wanted to take this journey. Perhaps she had changed her mind after all. "Very well. This Squirtle is yours."

"Yes!" exclaimed Clara. She grabbed at the Pokeball. "I promise I'll take good care of my new Squirtle!"

* * *

_Late. _Lily thought to herself bitterly. Her goodbye to her dad had taken longer than she'd expected.

She couldn't let him down but, on the other hand, she was letting her mom down. No matter what she did someone was going to get hurt.

But this was what Lily wanted. She wouldn't stop until she was number one in the Pokemon League. That was why she was on this journey in the fist place-to compete in the Pokemon League. Ever since the first tournament she'd attended, being only a spectator wasn't enough.

Lily ran through the doors of Professor Oak's lab. An assistant directed her upstairs.

"Professor Oak!" she called. "I'm here. I'm so sorry I was late!"

Professor Oak's eyes widened. She wondered if he was going to scold her for not arriving on time. "Lily, I'm so terribly sorry…"

She nodded numbly as he explained what had happened. Was this it? Was this a sign that what she was doing was wrong?

"It's okay," she said, feigning a smile. Inside, though, her heart was breaking as the image of the Squirtle she'd yearned for began to fade.

"I get new starter Pokemon again soon. I promise the next Squirtle I receive is yours."

"Thank you," she said, but there'd be no next time. Lily knew this was the world's way of telling her that she was being selfish to her mother.

As she walked out the door and back home she saw it. The Pokemon League, the screaming crowds, the smell of food, the thrilling battles. In those dreams she'd always had Eevee by her side, even when she knew she'd never use Eevee to fight. She'd pictured herself on that raised platform, effortlessly defeating her opponents using her skillfully trained team. Was that just a pipe dream?

_No,_ Lily thought determinedly. Maybe this was selfish of her and not what her mom wanted. But Lily wasn't ready to give up so easily. She was going to start this journey today, no matter what. Lily started jogging and then the next thing she knew she was sprinting back to her house.

Eevee, I'm sorry, but I…

She burst through the front door. "Eevee!" she cried. Nate had left for work by now so Eevee was the only one home. "Eevee, where are you?"

Eevee jumped off the couch in the living room and scurried over to Lily. She bent down, removing a Pokeball from her belt.

"Eevee," she began carefully, "I don't have a starter Pokemon, but I realize now that I want it to be you. I want you to come on this journey with me. I know I promised to never put you in danger, but really I want you to be there with me. And if you get hurt or decide it's too much I'll take you back home to live with dad…Well, what do you say?" she finished, staring anxiously at her Pokemon.

Eevee smiled, her tail straight up in the air. _"Eevee!"_ she exclaimed. It bowed its front legs forward and then jumped up playfully.

It was then that Lily realized this is what her Eevee had wanted all along- for them to be together. "Oh, I'm so glad, Eevee!" she exclaimed. "But you've got to be tough now, don't you know? Can you be strong and fearless?"

"_Eevee!"_ she explained, jumping forward, mimicking a tackle attack.

Lily giggled. "Maybe the bow doesn't exactly portray the same effect. Should I take it off?"

Eevee's ears fell down and she backed away defensively.

"I guess not." Lily scratched her head thoughtfully. "We have a lot of work ahead of us. Here. This is your Pokeball."

Eevee wagged her tail and Lily stored her inside the Pokeball. She kissed the top of it before placing it inside her belt. "I can't wait to tell Professor Oak!" she cried. She ran over to the counter in the kitchen, tore off a piece of notepad paper, and scribbled a quick note to her dad explaining that Eevee was now with her. Then she circled her house one last time, trying to commit every detail to memory, and left.

When she returned to Professor Oak, he was outside of his laboratory with two teenagers.

"I'm glad I caught you in time. Listen, Clara, there's a problem with your Squirtle…oh, there she is."

Lily caught up to them both. "Professor! I can take my journey after all. I'm using Eevee as my starter. Can I have a Pokedex, please?"

"Lily, I was just going to go find you. This is Clara. She's the one who took your Squirtle," he said, gesturing to the her.

Lily stared at the other girl. She was a little taller than Lily was, with long blonde hair tied into a ponytail and lively, bright green eyes. She was wearing a red tank top and white shorts. She gave off a vibe of confidence in just her stance alone. She was also looking at everything around her except Lily.

"You took my Squirtle?" Lily said, sounding more accusing than she'd meant to.

Clara blushed furiously. She finally looked at Lily, smiling. "Well, it's okay now. I mean you have an Eevee so I'll just take this boring Squirtle off your hands!" she exclaimed, her voice coming out in a rush.

"You told Lily you didn't want to become a trainer after all, I thought," said Professor Oak.

Lily's jaw dropped as she put it all together. "You _stole_ my Squirtle! That's my Pokemon!"

Clara suppressed a moan. "You're right. This is your Pokemon." She looked away from Lily as she handed her the Pokeball containing the Squirtle. As Lily took the Pokeball, she had to pry it from Clara's resistant fingers.

"But now I have…two starting Pokemon," Lily said, but she didn't want to give up either of them.

"That's alright," said Professor Oak, smiling.

"Yeah, I guess it is," said Lily. She said goodbye to Professor Oak and then all three of them left.

"I'm sorry, about the Squirtle, I mean. I just…wanted a Pokemon so bad," said Clara.

"It's alright," Lily said.

"My name is Clara, by the way."

"I'm Lily."

"Are you going to Pewter City?"

"Yeah, that's where the first gym badge is. I have to go through the forest first, though."

"That's where we're going!" Clara exclaimed. "Let's travel together."

"Really?"

"Yeah…now that I don't have a Pokemon I'm going to need someone to protect me," she said.

Lily shrugged. It helped to have a friend. "Sure."

"Yes! This is Kouta. He'll be traveling with us."

"No I won't," muttered Kouta. It was the first thing Lily had heard him say. "I just happen to be traveling the same route as you."

"Oh, come on," Clara said. She linked arms with Kouta. "Don't you want to tell all the other trainers that you have two pretty ladies taking the journey with you?"

Kouta only mumbled something incoherent in return. He slid his arm out of Clara's, but made no move to get away from the two girls. Clara shot Lily a wink, as if to say _'success!'_, and the three of them made their way to the edge of the forest.

Lily smiled. With Kouta and Clara, she was to begin her journey as the trainer with two starter Pokemon.

* * *

**Next Chapter: The Pokemon Catching Spree  
Feedback is an author's best friend.  
**


	2. The Pokemon Catching Spree

**A/N: I've seen other Pokemon fanfic writers do this so I'm going to as well. Feel free to submit OC characters. Be warned I'm not sure if I'll use them or not just yet but I'll definitely try.**  
**Name/Gender/Age (Please no older than 17 or younger than 10)**  
**Physical Appearance**  
**Pokemon Team (Kanto region ONLY. No legendary Pokemon)**

Trainer: Lily  
Chapter 2: The Pokemon Catching Spree

"I think we've been here already…" Clara said with an unconvincing amount of uncertainty.

"What? Oh, no. How can you tell?" said Lily anxiously.

"This tree. We've already passed this tree."

"…Clara, all the trees look _exactly the same_."

"Not _exactly!_"

"This is the first and last time we let you be in charge of the map," Kouta grumbled.

"Hey, Mr. Know it All!" Clara snapped, whirling on Kouta. "At least I'm trying to help! You're the one who's just dropping unhelpful comments the entire time!"

"Please, don't fight!" cried Lily. "It will only make this worse." She sighed. "I can't believe we've only been here for one day and we're already lost. I was hoping to get to Pewter City by tonight."

"That was wishful thinking," said Kouta.

"Again, not helpful," muttered Clara.

"How about," Lily cut in quickly before another fight could start, "we just make camp for the night? We can make dinner and I can get around to catching some Pokemon."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Lily said, scratching at her shoulder absent-mindedly. She glanced down at the spot. "Ah, man! I'm getting bitten. Does anyone have bug spray?"

"I do," said Lily, reaching into her bag, "but I'll go off on my own if you use it. I don't want you chasing away any Pokemon."

"Never mind! I'll just tough it out. I want to see you catch some Pokemon."

"Leave your belongings here," Kouta said. "I'll set up camp for us."

"Finally making yourself useful I see?" Clara said teasingly.

"Yes," Kouta said, not even looking at Clara as he opened his pack, "when do you plan on starting?"

Clara stuck her tongue at him and then took off with Lily.

* * *

"He needs to loosen up a bit, doesn't he?" Clara said as she looked around the forest with Lily. The thick cover of trees above them blocked out the setting sun, making it already significantly dark. It was late summer, early autumn; some leaves were starting to change color. Still, it was humid enough to be wearing shorts. Clara was wearing white shorts, which Lily thought wasn't a good idea to wear in a forest. Lily was wearing her favorite pair of denim shorts and a purple tank top.

"I guess so," Lily said, not really concerned with the conversation. She was keeping her out for any Pokemon.

"Hey, look!" Clara said, her voice suddenly a whisper. She yanked at Lily's shirt and pulled her behind a gathering of bushes.

"What are-" Lily began but she broke off when she saw where Clara was pointing. There was a small Pidgey poking her nose in the dirt.

"Pidgey," both Clara and Lily exclaimed in unison. Lily flipped open her Pokedex.

_Pidgey. A flying Pokemon. Pidgey is very docile. If attacked, it will often kick up sand to protect itself rather than fight back. _

"Well, this should be an easy catch for me, shouldn't it…Hey, your Pokedex is different than mine," Lily said, suddenly noticing.

Clara quickly flipped her Pokedex shut. "Never mind that. I'll explain later. You catch that Pidgey now."

"Right." Lily reached into her belt. "Go, Eevee!"

"Okay, Pidgey's data has been recorded. Now only 150 more to go," Clara whispered to herself cheerfully.

"_Eevee!" _Eevee burst from her Pokeball in a rush of energy. Clara immediately scanned Eevee's data into her Pokedex.

"Is that a _bow _on your Eevee?" cried Clara.

"Eevee use tackle attack!" ordered Lily, ignoring the other girl.

Eevee leaped forward determinedly, but the Pidgey retreated into the air too soon.

"Uh, okay. Try using sand attack, Eevee!"

Eevee kicked up a gust of sand and sent it skyward. The Pidgey cawed irritably and flapped her wings, sending the sand flying right back at Eeeve. Eevee whined as her own attack blinded her and the Pidgey swept down and knocked her with her tackle.

"Oh, no! Eevee, are you okay?"

Eevee whimpered in pain as she crashed to the ground.

" Don't give up!" Lily said. "Try using quick attack."

Eevee immediately jumped up before Pidgey could head for high ground again and used quick attack. As the Pidgey scrambled to regain its balance Eevee dove in for a tackle attack.

"Alright. Go Pokeball!" Lily tossed a Pokeball at the Pidgey. It caught the Pidgey and wiggled for a moment as she tried to escape. When it ceased to move Lily picked it up. "I did it!" she said in disbelief. "I caught my first Pokemon all on my own!"

"And now you have a flying type," Clara added with a grin. "Ugh, I have even more bites now!" she said, scratching one leg and a shoulder furiously. "I need bug spray. Can we go back to camp now?

Lily took Eevee in her arms and returned with Clara back to the camp, which Kouta had already set up. Clara scurried over to Lily's bag and began to spray her entire body down with bug spray. Eevee jumped out of Lily's arms and went over to Kouta, sniffing his hand curiously.

"Wow, you did all the work already. Thanks, Kouta," said Lily.

Kouta had finished a while ago, and was reading a book intently. Lily read the cover and could see that Professor Oak himself published it.

"Catch any Pokemon?" he said, while stroking the top of Eevee's head with one hand. Eevee cooed contentedly and licked Kouta's fingers with her small, pink tongue.

"I caught a Pidgey!" Lily exclaimed proudly and then quickly, "Well, I plan on catching more." She didn't want to seem too excited over catching only one Pokemon.

Kouta flipped his book shut. "You planning on going back out there now? I'll go with you. I need to start filling my Pokedex."

"Sure. That'd be great. Can you watch our stuff while we're gone, Clara?"

"Sure," said Clara, with a smile. Then, as the three of them were leaving, "Wait!"

Kouta, Lily, and Eevee turned around in unison. "What's wrong?"

"Well…I kind of don't have a Pokemon, remember? I mean if I get attacked…"

Lily reached into her belt. "I guess you could borrow my Squirtle, just in case."

"Thanks, Lily."

* * *

As she walked with Kouta, Lily wracked her brains for a conversation. She didn't know this boy very well, but knew he was quiet for sure. She felt uncomfortable, wishing she could spark up conversations as quickly as Clara could. It was silent, though, until they heard a persistent buzzing.

"What's that?" Lily said, nervously. Eevee, still not in her Pokeball, ducked behind her trainer's legs.

"Beedrill are in the area," Kouta said.

Lily was about to respond when a burst of Beedrill flew out of a nearby tree and straight at them. Lily and Kouta cried out in surprise and ducked.

"Watch out for its stingers!" warned Kouta, shouting over the noisy buzzing.

"They seem angry!" Lily said.

"We're probably near their nest! They're afraid we're going to intrude!"

"Then tell them we won't!" cried Lily and they took off in the other direction. Eevee raced ahead of them both, running at a faster pace. The Beedrills, still buzzing noisily, surged forward as they raced after them. Their red eyes stared at the two of them with a fierce intensity.

"Eevee! Try a sand attack!" exclaimed Lily. Up ahead, Eevee immediately skidded to a halt and whirled around.

"Wait a minute, Lily. Growlithe's flames will guarantee us safety. Go, Growlithe!" cried Kouta, sending his Pokeball flying behind him. "Ember attack! Get those Beedrills out of here!"

Growlithe barked, signally his obedience, and unleashed a missile like ember attack. The Beedrills were burned badly and retreated, save for one.

"You did it, Kouta!" Lily exclaimed.

"I need to get this data," Kouta said, taking out his Pokedex. Lily noticed it was the same one as Clara's.

The information recorded, Kouta said, "Growlithe, hold that Beedrill in place with your leer and then use ember again!"

Growlithe's eyes began to glow and the Beedrill was paralyzed. Then he unleashed another ember attack.

"Go, Pokeball!" cried Kouta. Him and Lily stared anxiously as the Pokeball wiggled for a few moments and then froze. "Go it," Kouta said, a satisfied smile on his face.

"We should head back now. It's starting to get even darker," Lily said, looking up at the sky and frowning.

As they walked Lily said, "So what exactly is up with that Pokedex you and Clara carry? It's different than mine."

"It's part of our internship," Kouta said. "You see, Professor Oak handpicks a certain number of students to study for him and eventually maybe even become his assistant one day. Sometimes he as students work for other professors in different regions too. Whatever the case it's a great opportunity. I'm originally from Vermilion City, but moved to Pallet Town after being chosen to study for the Professor.

"Then Professor Oak selected one male and one female student, a.k.a. Clara and me, to record information for this newest edition of the Pokedex. Clara and I are the first ever to be able to use it."

"Wow," Lily said, genuinely impressed.

Upon their return Lily was sitting outside the tent staring at a handful of Pokeballs. "How'd it go?" she asked them.

"Kouta caught a Beedrill," Lily answered.

"That's cool," Clara said.

"If you want I'll go with you tomorrow morning so you can try to catch some Pokemon of your own."

"That won't be necessary," Clara said, not unkindly. "I borrowed your Squirtle, hope you don't mind, and caught myself a Caterpie, Oddish, Pidgey, Pikachu, Rattata, and Spearow."

Lily's jaw dropped. "Weren't you supposed to be watching the camp?"

"I did! But I explored the surrounding area."

"You'll never be able to train all those Pokemon if you keep catching at that rate," Kouta pointed it out.

"It's people like you who motivate me to," Clara said eagerly. She twirled one of her Pokeballs in her hand. "Hey, Lily, what do you say we have a Pokemon battle? Come on! Let's check out our new Pokemon."

Lily bit her lip nervously _My first Pokemon battle_. "Okay! You're on."

**Next Chapter: Lily vs. Clara**


	3. Lily Vs Clara

Trainer: Lily 

Chapter 3: Lily Vs. Clara

Clara and Lily found an empty clearing in the forest, far enough so that they wouldn't damage the campsite but close enough so that other trainers wouldn't think of getting sticky fingers. Kouta was to act as referee.

"How about two Pokemon each, Lily?" Clara asked.

"Sounds good to me," said Lily, reaching into her belt for a Pokeball.

_"Eevee."_

Lily looked down and saw Eevee standing forward, ears pricked up in alertness.

"Hey, Eevee, I'd rather try out Pidgey," Lily whispered kindly.

Eevee looked up to see Lily holding Pidgey's Pokeball and then sighed, backing down to view the battle as a spectator instead.

"Well, what do you say, Lily? Ready to go?" Clara said, one hand firmly placed on her hip and the other clutching a Pokeball. She was, as usual, emanating confidence.

"Of course I am!"

"Then I choose you, Oddish!" Clara exclaimed, giving her Pokeball a graceful twirl.

Lily smiled, satisfied. "That's good for me," she said, preparing to toss her Pokeball, "because my first choice is you, Pidgey!" She tossed her own Pokeball into the makeshift battlefield. The small, docile bird fluttered energetically out of her Pokeball.

Clara furrowed her brow, registering her clear disadvantage. Her fingers grazed her belt, considering a quick withdrawal. "_No,_ I'll use expert strategy to win this," she whispered to herself.

Apparently, Kouta had heard her. "Define 'expert strategy'," he said, dryly.

Clara whirled on him. "Hey! You're the referee not the commentator so keep your mouth shut over there!" She turned to the battlefield again. "Oddish, start this off with a sweet scent, now!"

Oddish waved the thick leaves on his head several times and a thick, pink aroma through the air.

_What a pleasant small,_ Lily thought dazedly. _Like a field of flowers and sunshine and candy, all mixed together_…

"Ah, Pidgey!" she cried, snapping out of her daze.

Pidgey was hovering lazily in the air, the thick pink smoke having drifted to her.

"Pidgey, clear the air!"

Pidgey flapped her winds, blowing the pink smoke away. It gusted toward Oddish but he wasn't affected by his own fume.

"Oddish, try stun spore!"

Oddish lowered his leaves and this time shot out a mist of topaz colored air. Pidgey soared upward, above the attack.

"Gust attack, Pidgey!"

"Pidgey!" Pidgey flapped her wings again, furiously this time, and sent a miniature tornado at Oddish.

"Quick attack!" Lily ordered, feeling a rush of glee as adrenaline coursed through her.

Pidgey dove down rapidly, beak pointed forward as Oddish scrambled to gain his bearings.

"Acid!" cried Clara anxiously.

Just in time, Oddish shakily rose to his feet and shot out thick purple goo. It hit Pidgey directly and she crashed to the ground, scraping against the dirt. Pidgey lifted her head, face smeared purple.

"Oddish, absorb!"

"Quick, Pidgey, dodge!"

A red beam darted forward. Pidgey scraped her face against one of her wings, but the thick acid was not coming off. She took the hit.

"Fly up!" said Lily.

Pidgey fluttered frantically to the sky.

"Gust attack!"

Another tornado came spiraling at Oddish and successfully swept him up. Oddish struggled in vain as the wind swallowed him up.

_I've got this,_ thought Lily excitedly. "Go, Pidgey! Quick attack!"

Pidgey, having managed to clear most of the acid from her vision, dove down again and collided with Oddish in a quick attack, ensuring her victory.

"Oh! Oddish, return." The bright light burst from Clara's Pokeball, enclosing him safely. Clara looked discouraged, but certainly no less confident. "Alright then. Turn this around, Spearow!"

Spearow entered the battle.

"Interesting strategy. Bird against bird," Kouta mused.

Clara glared at him sharply.

"_What! _That wasn't even offensive!" cried Kouta.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Clara muttered, turning away from him again. "Spearow, peck attack!"

"Dodge it, Pidgey! Use sand attack!"

Pidgey swooped low, ducking Spearow's sharp beaked peck, and then veered around to sweep up a blinding sand. Spearow recoiled, struggling for his vision.

"Quick attack!"

Pidgey flew through her own wave of sand, aiming straight for Spearow. The other bird managed to duck out of the way just in time, leaving Pidgey lost in her own sandstorm now too.

"Peck!" exclaimed Clara.

Spearow surged forward and dug his beak into Pidgey's side. She was sent reeling backward and slammed her back against a nearby tree trunk.

_Oh, no!_ Lily thought, horrified.

"Spearow, finish this!"

Spearow flew forward once more, driving his beak into Pidgey again. With that, Pidgey crumpled in defeat. Lily grunted in frustration, scrambling for her Pokeball. "Return, Pidgey."

"Looks like we're at a dead tie now, Lily! How about that?" Clara said, gazing intently at her Spearow.

Kouta nodded impressively.

Lily glanced down at Eevee at her side. "It's all on you now, Eevee."

Eevee looked back up and smirked, ears pricked again. _"Eevee!"_

"Eevee, go!"

Lily looked at the battlefield. Eevee, small and alert, was on the ground glaring up at Spearow. Clara's Spearow had a fierce, furious expression on his face. He was one bad tempered Pokemon, Lily realized.

"Spearow, leer attack!"

A bright yellow gleam shone Spearow's angry eyes. Eevee stood stark still, twitching slightly as she tried to move.

"Dive down and use peck!" Clara exclaimed.

Spearow flew in a back flip, gaining momentum as he flew down from the end of his flip. He crashed into Eevee, who squealed in surprise as she fell back. The same tree that Pidgey had crashed into was behind Eevee.

"Eevee, no!" cried Lily, frightened of the tree providing extra damage as it had Pidgey. Fortunately, she hadn't been hit hard enough and the dirt and grass pulled Eevee to a halt. She scrambled to her feet.

"Tackle, Eevee!" cried Lily.

Eevee jumped forward, but Spearow was far too fast. He quickly fluttered back into the sky.

_This is no good,_ Lily thought anxiously. _Spearow is just going to keep retreating to the sky. All I can do is rely on Eevee's speed to dodge him unless I can get him to the ground. I have to bring him down somehow. _

"Spearow, back down again!" Clara ordered.

Spearow soared down again.

"Sand attack!" said Lily.

"Dodge!"

Eevee kicked up a sandstorm. Spearow flew over the mass and then back down when he cleared it.

"Tail whip!" Lily shouted, hoping there was enough time.

Right before Spearow could pierce Eevee again, she whacked him across his side with a powerful tail whip. Spearow recoiled, still hovering only a little bit above land.

"Tackle attack, Eevee! Bring Spearow down!"

Eevee rammed her body into Spearow and he skidded against the dirt once he crashed to the ground.

"Quick attack!"

Eevee hit Spearow one more time, this time with blinding speed, and Spearow stayed down.

"Spearow, no! Get up!" cried Clara.

Kouta peered at Spearow thoughtfully. Then he shook his head. "Spearow is down. This match goes to Lily and Eevee."

This time Clara didn't have a smart remark for Kouta. She was too upset over the match.

_I won,_ Lily thought in disbelief. _I really won._

"Eevee, we did it!" cried Lily gleefully.

"_Eevee!" _

Eevee whirled around and ran to Lily, jumping into her arms. Lily laughed, scratching the top of Eevee's head.

_I won!  
_

* * *

For the rest of that day the three of them quietly tried to get themselves back on course for Pewter City. When it was too dark to continue they'd stopped the make camp. The following morning Lily was the first to wake up. She crawled out of her tent with Eevee following, nibbled on some crackers for breakfast, and then began to brush her hair. As usual she parted her hair down the middle and fixed the two halves into little braids that fell to her shoulders. As she was finishing up this routine, Clara crawled out of her own tent.

"Morning," Clara said sleepily. "Did you eat breakfast?"

Her tone was mild, amiable even. Yesterday after the battle she hadn't said much, hadn't even bothered to pester Kouta, which Lily was beginning to realize was one of her favorite past times. However, last night she seemed too preoccupied with her defeat to be her usual self.

Lily took this apparent return to normality as Clara's way of saying that she was ready to move on. "I had a few crackers. I'm not very hungry."

Clara nodded, fishing through her pack for her own brush. She began to run it through her fair hair. As she did, she stared intently at Lily. "You always wear your hair in braids, don't you?"

Lily shrugged. "It looks nice and keeps it out of my face, so yeah."

"They're cute," Clara said, "but cute isn't what you're aiming for as a Pokemon trainer, you know."

"Well, it's how I like my hair," Lily said defensively. Eevee nuzzled against her trainer's knee affectionately. Lily stroked her neck, her fingers trailing across Eevee's bright yellow bow. She frowned. _Maybe I should start considering making some wardrobe changes._

Kouta came out of his tent then, smiling. "I was looking over the map this morning and if we keep following this road we should make it out of the forest by lunchtime."

"You mean we'll be free of this bug infested nightmare of a maze? That's okay with me!" Clara said, jumping up eagerly. "Civilization!"

Kouta shook his head critically. "If we're going to finish Professor Oak's mission, you better get used to this kind of stuff. Or are you too much of a wimp to handle a couple of bugs and some _oh so scary_ twigs?"

Clara froze, her mood completely shifted. She whirled on Kouta. "_You did not just say that,"_ she said threateningly.

Kouta smirked, then glanced over at Lily and winked. Lily smiled back; deciding that it was better to not get involved in Kouta and Clara's bickering matches.

* * *

As Kouta predicted, they reached the edge of the forest sometime around midday. The three of them exchanged approving glances.

"How about we celebrate this successful forest trek with a nice lunch?" Clara suggested.

"I think we all need a run to the Pokemon Center first," Kouta said.

"Yeah, my Pokemon need to freshen up," said Lily.

"Oh, yeah, I knew that," Clara said. "But afterwards, lunch!"

"Lunch," Lily agreed. Her stomach was in agreement with the idea. Those crackers she'd eaten that morning certainly hadn't kept her filled.

They all made a break for the city. As they crossed town for the Pokemon Center, they passed the massive Pewter City Gym. Lily held her breath.

"You think you're ready?" Kouta asked quietly as they made their way.

Lily glanced at him and smiled shyly. She nodded in response. "I'm ready."

When Kouta looked away, she frowned. _I certainly hope I am._

**A/N: Next Chapter: The Boulder Badge**


	4. The Boulder Badge

Trainer: Lily

Chapter 4: The Boulder Badge

"You're Pokemon are fully refreshed and ready to go," Nurse Joy said, smiling pleasantly.

"Thank you, Nurse Joy," Clara said and, along with Kouta and Lily, collected her Pokeballs.

"Since we're already here and the food is free why don't we feed out Pokemon before we get lunch?" Lily said.

"Good idea," Clara said in agreement. They all headed to the cafeteria.

"Come on out everyone!" Clara said, setting free Oddish, Spearow, and the rest of her collection. Kouta's Growlithe and Beedrill joined them. Clara sat down to unlace her boots.

_I can give Mom and Dad a call too, while I'm at it,_ Lily thought. She unleashed Eevee first. "Feeling well rested, Eevee?" Lily said cheerfully. Her Eevee smiled and wagged her tail in response.

Next Lily released Pidgey. At first she fluttered her wings in an amiable greeting but then, eyeing Spearow, a thick tension settled in the air. Spearow fixed Pidgey with a cold glare.

"Um yeah, you two might want to do something fast," Kouta said.

Pidgey and Spearow flew full speed at each other.

"Return!" cried Clara and Lily simultaneously, both holding out their Pokeballs. Pidgey and Spearow were sent back inside them.

Lily scratched her head awkwardly. "I guess we've created a sort of rivalry between those two."

"Well, Spearows are notorious for their bad tempers and sometimes trainers can fuel their fires," Kouta pointed out. He glanced at Clara. "So, basically, Clara, this is all your fault." Clara immediately chucked her boot at Kouta. He chuckled, deflecting it with a swat of his hand.

Lastly, Lily let out Squirtle. She hadn't yet gotten the chance to get to know him yet and was ready to make friends. But when he came out he withdrew into his shell right away.

"Ugh!" Lily cried out in frustration. "I'm going to make a phone call," she said, walking away as Nurse Joy brought out several bowls of food for the Pokemon.

Lily went to the phone booth and first spoke with her father, Nate. As expected Nate was beaming with pride as Lily recapped her entire trek through the Viridian Forest, including how she won her first Pokemon battle against her newfound friend. He insisted she call her after her battle in the Pewter City Gym. Her mother was far less encouraging. Finally, Lily called Professor Oak.

When his cheery face appeared on the screen Lily had to smile. "Hey, Professor Oak," she said.

"Lily! It's so good to see you. Where are you calling me from?"

"Pewter City. Clara, Kouta, and I just arrived here."

"You made excellent time and I'm glad you've decided to tag along with my interns. They err…could use someone to act as mediator.

"Oh. Right." _What am I? Their mother?_

"More importantly than making good time how many Pokemon have you caught?"

"Oh, well. I caught a Pidgey in the Viridian Forest."

"Excellent! What else?"

Lily flushed, then smiled. "Well, I got Eevee and Squirtle to help me out too."

Professor Oak blinked. An elongated silence followed. "Eh…Okay then."

Crestfallen, Lily said, "But I plan on catching more Pokemon really soon."

"That should be your next goal. Though remember, Lily, you'd be better off having a team of three expertly trained Pokemon than a team of twelve mediocre Pokemon."

"True!" Lily exclaimed eagerly. "I'm going to have my first gym battle soon."

"You sound nervous."

"I am," Lily admitted.

"That seems to be your weakness as a Pokemon trainer, Lily, if I'm going to be perfectly honest."

"Huh?"

"Confidence! You lack the confidence that most trainers your age seem to have at that stage, especially considering they've been trainers for five years."

"But I only-"

"I know. I know. You joined late in the game and while that seems like a huge setback to you now, it's not all bad to be more mature when you first begin this journey. Anyway, my point is that even trainers just starting out tend to have a certain arrogance to them. You could afford to let their arrogance rub off on you, Lily, if it would make you less timid. You need to be more confident so that trainers don't think you're too soft. You want to make a good impression, don't you?"

"Yes," Lily said. This conversation had made her immensely frustrated. Was she really too timid? She thought of Clara, who oozed with self-confidence. And then Kouta, who's quiet stance was one of mature, self-assuredness. What did other people think when they looked at her?

"I really must be going now, though. I'm afraid I have a lot of work to attend to. Do call again soon. I truly enjoy hearing from my trainers."

"I will. Thanks, Professor Oak." Discouraged, Lily hung up the phone.

* * *

Kouta, Clara, and Lily went for lunch at a nearby restaurant.

"So how do you plan on taking on the Pewter City gym leader?" Kouta asked Lily.

"Oh, well, I'm not really sure yet."

"You should really think ahead. Gym leaders are extremely tough."

"I can do it," Lily insisted. "I won my first Pokemon battle, didn't I?"

"Clara fought alright, but gym leaders are a whole different monster. They don't use predictable battle tactics like Clara did."

"Eat your food and keep your mouth shut, Kouta!"

"Gym leaders are also normally really intimidating."

Lily froze. "What? You don't think I can handle it, Kouta?"

"I didn't mean it like that, Lily. I just mean that I'm worried you might get scared. The gym leader, Brock, is-"

"I'm sick of you two picking on me just because I'm not an obnoxious, cocky trainer!" Lily snapped.

Kouta and Clara exchanged glances. "Lily," Clara began, "we didn't-"

"In fact, just to prove that I'm not a meek, scared little girl, I'm going to go challenge the gym leader right now!" Lily said, gesturing to their waiter for the check.

Kouta and Clara wore identical expressions of shock. "Lily, no!" Clara said. "That's a huge mistake! You need to practice and train really hard before battling a gym leader!"

But Lily wasn't listening. She threw some money onto the table and darted out of the restaurant. Clara looked to Kouta. "Oh, Kouta. She's in trouble."

"Chase after her," Kouta said, reaching into his pocket for his wallet. "I'll handle this. You just catch her in time."

Clara nodded and then raced out of the restaurant. She chased Lily across town and caught up with her as she was nearing the gym.

"Lily!" Clara cried. "Stop! You're being totally irrational."

Lily turned to her friend. "I want to do this. I have to prove to everyone that I can be confident too." _Including myself._

Clara shook her head, blonde ponytail whipping back and forth. "You don't have to prove that to anyone. Just don't go racing in there. You'll regret it."

"So you're that sure I'll lose?"

"…I didn't say that," Clara said hesitantly.

_Ouch_. "Well, I'm going to challenge the gym leader right now. Even if I do lose, Clara, so what? I can always ask for a rematch."

Kouta caught up with them. Lily stared at both her friends. "I'm going in," she said firmly.

Clara gave in but Kouta said, "Wait!" Lily ignored him though and stepped inside the gym.

Unfortunately, she wasn't going to be proving anything today. The inside of the gym, combined with the realization of how foolish this whole thing was, made her _terrified_.

The gym itself had a dimly lit interior with bright ceiling light illuminating the battlefield before her. The ground had a layer of sand beneath a rocky terrain. Lily was suddenly reminded of something.

_ Brock, leader of the Pewter Gym specials in rock type. Squirtle would be perfect but I've yet to use him in battle so I have no idea how he'll do. That leaves Pidgey, a flying type…and Eevee. _

"Who's there?" a deep, cold voice said.

_Shoot._

Lily took several extremely shaky steps forward so that she was standing in the square outline that was drawn directly in front of the rocky battlefield. She squinted and could see the outline of a broad figure. She swallowed and tried to sound nonchalant when she said, "My name is Lily Rockwell. I'm here for a gym battle."

"Very well. My name is Brock. I'm the Pewter City gym leader." When he stepped forward she could see his heavy arms were folded tightly across his chest. He had dark skin and hair. "But be warned, I'm not going easy on you just because you're a new trainer."

Lily's fists clenched. The fact that he knew right away that she was new…

"We will use two Pokemon each. There will be no time limit. Understood?"

Lily nodded. "Understood."

"Good. Then I choose you, Geodude!" Brock called, giving his Pokeball a fierce toss.

A gray boulder with bulging eyes and strong arms entered the battlefield. Lily frowned, scanning the Pokemon with her Pokedex.

_Geodude, the Rock Pokémon. Geodude has incredibly high defensive power, making it virtually resistant to any physical attacks._

Lily grimaced. That left her with no other choice. "Go, Squirtle!"

Her cute, tiny turtle burst from his Pokeball.

"Squirtle, bubble!"

Squirtle gave Lily a bored look and ignored her.

"No!" Lily cried.

"Hey," Clara muttered to Kouta from behind. "Do you think Squirtle doesn't listen to Lily because he was originally mine and feels like he owes his loyalty to me?"

"That could very well be it," Kouta said. "But I hope not because that means Lily is in trouble."

"Come on, Squirtle! Use bubble!" Lily cried desperately.

Squirtle yawned. Across the battlefield, Brock smirked. "At the very least I expect trainers who come in here to have trained their Pokemon to _obey_ them. Squirtle has forfeited the match. This battle goes to me then."

Lily felt her cheeks grow furiously red. "Return, Squirtle," she cried. She'd never been so angry with a Pokemon in her life, but she had to push that aside for now. Squirtle didn't go into his Pokeball, but instead waddled off of the battle arena and sat beside Lily, expression bored.

"You have one Pokemon remaining, Lily," Brock said.

Lily, ignoring the jibe and her boiling rage, traced her fingers across Pidgey's Pokeball first, then Eevee's.

_Geodude can levitate himself in the air. Since Pidgey can fly-_

Suddenly, one of her Pokeballs burst open in her belt. Lily looked down in shock. Eevee had escaped from her Pokeball.

"Eevee, what are you doing?"

Eevee wore a fierce expression. _"Eevee!"_ it cried angrily, fur standing up on end.

Brock shook his head. "At least have your Pokemon trained to stay in their Pokeballs before challenging a gym leader!"

"You want to fight, Eevee?" Lily said. At first she was going to call Eevee back but then as she stared at her small companion she realized Eevee wanted to prove the same thing she did. _Just because she's small doesn't mean she can't put up a fight._

"Alright then. Go, Eevee!" Lily cried, pointing toward the battlefield. Eevee scampered onto it. She clenched her fists in determination, beaming with pride for her brave companion.

Brock cocked his head to the side. "Is that a bow on her neck?"

"Hey!" snapped Lily. "Let's just focus on the fight!"

"Very well. Geodude, rock throw!"

Rocks flew at Eevee from every direction. Eevee darted behind large boulders, quickly moving from one to the next and using them as a shield.

"Try a tackle attack!" said Brock.

"Eevee, sand attack! Make the battlefield as messy as you can!"

Eevee obeyed, kicking up as much sand as possible and sending it toward Geodude. A sandstorm surrounded him and he was practically blind. Geodude, still trying to successfully perform his tackle, ended up slamming himself into a large boulder.

"Good job, Eevee!"

Brock looked taken aback, but quickly resumed his confident smile. "Cute trick," he said. "Earthquake!"

Geodude descended in the air. Several rings flew outward from the ground. The ground beneath Eevee began to shake uncontrollably. She whined, scrambling to regain her footing.

"Eevee!" cried Lily.

Brock smirked. "You can't win."

Lily sighed. He was right. Furthermore, she couldn't stand to watch Eevee so badly outmatched. She reached for her Pokeball. "Eevee, return!" But when the bright light traveled from her Pokeball to enclose Eevee, she leaped out of the way of it and onto a fallen rock. "Eevee, I'm calling you back! This is one battle you just can't win." She tried to seal Eevee into her Pokeball once more, but Eevee only jumped to another rock to avoid the light.

_She knows I'll lose if she is withdrawn because Squirtle won't fight and I can't use a third Pokemon._

"I know you want to see this through to the end, Eevee," said Lily, touched, "but it's just not worth it this time."

Eevee shook her head stubbornly. She jumped off the rock and kicked up another sand attack. Eevee, Lily realized, was only doing what she had done to Kouta and Clara just before. She remained stubbornly resilient and determined, even when the odds were against her.

"And I have to believe in her," Lily whispered to herself. "Just like I had hoped Kouta and Clara would believe in me."

Another blinding storm of sand was racing across the battlefield, blinding Brock's Geodude. Brock looked through the thick layer of sand anxiously, even he was having trouble seeing his Pokemon.

"Use earthquake, Geodude!"

"Eevee, the rocks. Send those flying!"

Although she was small, Eevee was still strong. Still, some of the boulders were too heavy for her to hit. So Eevee went to some of the smaller rocks and hit into them as hard as they could. Geodude, his vision still a blur because of the sand, could not have foreseen the rocks that came barreling at him. They crashed into him and sent him reeling.

"Way to go, Eevee!"

"You got this, Lily!" she heard Clara shout behind her.

"It's a clever strategy," Brock said from across the arena, nodding. "But the bottom line is Geodude is resistant to rock attacks, being that he is a rock type, not to mention he also _is_ a rock himself. Eevee's attack is almost like makeshift rock throw, which will do some damage but not enough. This battle is mine for the taking. It's only a matter of wearing Eevee down."

Eevee snarled at Brock's comments. "Don't underestimate us so soon!" Lily shot back.

"Oh, yeah? Earthquake, Geodude!"

"Eevee, head for high ground!"

The battlefield began to rupture violently once more. Eevee squealed, jumping onto the boulders that remained standing.

Brock smiled knowingly and Lily realized her mistake; he'd predicted her attack. With Eevee now carefully balancing herself on an elevated boulder, Geodude could easily find her through the sand that still lingered in the air. "Geodude, seismic toss!"

"Watch out, Lily!" cried Kouta from behind her. "Eevee won't be able to handle a fighting type attack!"

"Eevee!" Lily gasped, but it was too late. Right away, Geodude snatched Eevee into his strong arms and flew into the air. Eevee struggled desperately, but it was futile. Geodude brought them both soaring to the ground, which was still experience after effects from his previous earthquake attack, and chucked Eevee to the ground before they both hit it. Eevee slid against the dirt and bumped up against a rock. She groaned painfully.

"Geodude, let's end this! Get underground, now!"

Geodude dove down and dug himself so that he was beneath the battlefield. Eevee instinctively jumped onto a boulder. She glanced around, trying to find another sign of wear he was, unturned earth or a tremor perhaps. She stood on shaking legs, and Lily saw how weakened she was from this battle.

"Oh, Eevee," Lily said, at a loss of what to do.

Eevee studied the field some more and both of them caught a slight tremor in the earth coming from Eevee's left.

"There he is!" Lily said, pointing. "Run, Eevee!"

Eevee leaped onto another boulder just in time, escaping Geodude as he burst up from the earth and overturned the rock she'd been previously mounted on.

"Seismic toss!" Brock said.

"Eevee, get away!"

Geodude came barreling forward toward Eevee, and she suddenly jumped off the boulder and onto the ground. Lily winced. The ground was shaken and messy, sharp rocks scattered about the sand. It was much easier for her nimble Eevee to jump from boulder to boulder. "Eevee, what are you-?"

Eevee dug a hole.

Clara looked at Kouta with wide green eyes. "Did she just…"

Kouta's dark eyes were widened as was. "I think she did. She watched Geodude and…taught herself dig."

"Can Pokemon do that?" Clara said, shocked.

"I mean they can, but normally not so quickly."

The incredulity was felt by all. Across the arena, Brock had his fists clenched anxiously. Even Squirtle, who'd been sitting bored the entire time, jumped to his feet.

Eevee was underground now, moving swiftly. Unlike Geodude's perfected technique, Eevee was clearly struggling. She was not able to hide herself effectively and it was easy to see where she was beneath the rubble. She kept stopping shortly before pushing on, probably running into a rock or a particularly thick cluster of ground.

Brock managed to shake off his surprise. "Geodude, it's okay. Just get to higher ground and dodge!" Geodude flew upward so that he was closer to the ceiling than the floor.

"Eevee!" Lily called, hoping she could hear her. "The boulders! Use them as a springboard!"

When Eevee burst out of the earth she jumped onto the nearest boulder, bent her small legs, and soared upward. She crashed herself into Geodude and they both went tumbling back down to earth. Eevee landed on Geodude, allowing him to take full force of the hit.

"No!" cried Brock, for the first time completely frazzled.

"Geodude is weak against ground attacks," Lily murmured to herself.

Geodude was still weak from the attack.

"Quick Eevee! Dig under again!"

Eevee buried beneath the hole Geodude has previously dug from his dig attack to save time. She scampered through the underground, and came out right beneath Geodude. A direct hit. Geodude spiraled through the air and landed in a heap.

"Geodude!" Brock cried, but he was down. He sighed, regaining control of his emotions. "Return, Geodude." He stared at his Pokeball for a moment. "You did well, Geodude." He stared Lily down across the battlefield. "Your Eevee is a fighter, but this was child's play compared to what comes next. I choose you, Onix!"

Lily had brushed off Brock's comment about this being child's play, but once the enormous rock snake took his place on the field, she realized Brock hadn't been just saying it to sound tough. Onix was a whole different monster.

Lily immediately flipped her Pokedex open.

_Onix, the Rock Snake Pokémon. It tunnels through the ground which shakes when it raises its thunderous roar. It can move the ground at fifty miles per hour._

_Fifty_ miles per hour? Now, Lily knew Eevee couldn't move _that_ fast.

"Onix, bind!" Brock yelled.

There was no escape. Onix literally took up nearly the entire battlefield. Onix moved its massive body, the sound of crumbling rock ringing in Lily's ears, and enclosed it around her Eevee.

Eevee squealed for a moment, but being small came in handy this time. She managed to slide through Onix's hold and land on the end of his tail. She jumped off it and successfully dodged the attack.

"Dig, Onix!"

Onix thrust his head into the air and, with an ear-shattering roar, shot it back down in an axe like swing. His head borrowed beneath the ground, tail in the air. Then he buried his entire body.

He was too big to hide where he was in the ground like Geodude had been able to, but it didn't matter. Onix was just _too big_. Even if his head didn't hit Eevee, some part of his body would.

"Eevee!" cried Lily. There was no escape. If Eevee dug underground again, she would meet Onix head on. She could get onto a boulder, but Onix would crush that boulder on his way up. Eevee leapt onto a boulder.

"Onix, dig!"

Onix burst forward and the rocky spine on his head split the boulder Eevee was standing on cleanly in two, then crashed into Eevee. She cried out in pain and then hit the ground, defeated.

"_Eevee!" _Lily cried again. Eevee tried to stand, but then fell to the ground once more.

Brock nodded approvingly. "That's the way to do it, Onix. This battle is over then, isn't it?"

Lily fell to her knees. "No," she whispered. She couldn't even look at her poor Eevee as she withdrew her back into the Pokeball. She felt someone nudge her arm and expected to see Clara or Kouta.

It was Squirtle.

"_Squirt, Squirtle!"_

"Y-You're going to fight after all, Squirtle?" Lily whispered.

Squirtle nodded determinedly._ "Squirtle!"_

Squirtle, Lily realized, had to have been inspired by Eevee's bravery. Lily, still on her knees, stared at her hands. "Thank you, Squirtle," she whispered. She abruptly stood. "Wait, Brock! I'm not finished here! Squirtle is going to fight!"

Brock cocked his head to the side curiously. "Just when I was about to declare this match over. Fair enough. Let's continue then."

Kouta ran to Lily's side. "Give me Eevee," he said quickly. "I'll heal her."

Lily nodded and handed him Eevee's Pokeball. "Thank you, Kouta." She turned to the battlefield, drawing a shaking breath. "I choose you, Squirtle!"

Squirtle jumped onto the battlefield. Despite being significantly smaller, Squirtle did not seem the least bit intimidated by Onix.

"Squirtle, use-!"

Squirtle opened his mouth and unleashed a swift, rapid-fire bubble attack.

"Um, yeah! Just like I said!" Lily said, blushing. She was going to issue an order for a bubble attack, but clearly Squirtle would have done the attack no matter what move he used.

The bubble caused Onix to recoil, closing his eyes in pain. His size had been a huge advantage against Eevee, but now it was certainly a hindrance.

"Onix, dig!"

Onix buried himself underground, the move causing the ground beneath Squirtle to shake violently.

"Squirtle, use-" Again, Squirtle ignored her. He jumped onto a boulder. "That won't work, Squirtle!" cried Lily. "Use _withdraw!_"

This time, he obeyed, retreating into his shell. His soft stomach, though, would take the majority of Onix's attack. "Squirtle, turn over!"

Squirtle popped out of his shell, fell onto his back and, retreated back inside. Immediately after, Onix emerged from the ground. The boulder Squirtle was on crumbled to pieces and Onix smacked against Squirtle's shell. Squirtle whipped through the air, spinning in circles. In midair, he popped out of his shell and then unleashed a bubble attack. As he continued to get closer and closer to the ground, he also continued his bubble attack. Then he landed surprisingly gracefully onto the ground, not letting up on his bubble attack. Onix roared in pain, but there was no chance of a nearly thirty-foot long Pokemon escaping this attack.

"Keep going, Squirtle!"

Finally, Onix fell. His head came plummeting toward the ground; Squirtle jumped out of the way in time. When his head hit the ground, the entire gym trembled. Squirtle himself toppled over from the force. He sheepishly stood back up, brushing dirt off his little legs.

Brock's jaw was dropped. He stood in shocked silence for about a minute before finally regaining composure. He smiled in acceptance and nodded to Lily. "Very well. Looks like you really are a foe to be afraid of. Onix is unable to battle. This match goes to Squirtle."

Lily was still shocked. She stared at the battlefield, her gray eyes wide. Clara's cry of glee from behind brought her back to reality.

"LILY! You won!" she shouted, racing over to Lily. She threw her arms around her and hugged her so tightly Lily couldn't breathe. "You did it!" She drew back, holding her friend by her shoulders at arm's length. "You won! I'm so sorry I ever doubted you, but that's behind us now! You won your very first gym battle!"

Finally, Lily allowed herself to smile. "I did, didn't I?"

Squirtle scurried off the battlefield. "Squirtle!" exclaimed Lily. She immediately pulled him into a hug. "You really came through for me!" Squirtle squirmed out of her arms sheepishly.

"_Squirtle,"_ he murmured as if to say, _"It was nothing, really."_

Lily laughed in spite of herself. Kouta came over to Lily, smiling. "Congratulations, Lily." In his arms he was holding Eevee. She was smiling, completely healed.

"_Eevee,"_ Lily said lovingly. "If it wasn't for you, well, I'm just so proud of you!" She grabbed Eevee from Kouta and kissed the top of her head over and over, Eevee giggling. Beside them, Squirtle sighed irritably. Eevee jumped out of Lily's arms and smiled at Squirtle. She spoke, congratulating and thanking him. In spite of himself, Squirtle cried out cheerfully and even did a little dance on his toes, causing Kouta, Clara, and Lily to all laugh.

Brock, with Onix in his Pokeball, crossed the arena and smiled proudly at Lily. "I don't give this to many trainers and, admittedly, didn't expect to be giving this to you, but I am happy to present you with this." He opened up his palm. "This is the Boulder Badge. Proof that you've defeated me."

It was merely a simple gray octagon, but it was the most beautiful thing Lily had ever seen. "Thank you, Brock!" she cried, taking the small badge from him and staring at it in wonder.

Clara nodded happily. "It's nice to meet a gym leader who can accept defeat with such grace," she said.

Brock inched closer to Clara. "It's the sign of a gentleman isn't it, young miss?" he said smoothly. "I'm also a gentleman when I take a lady out on a date. So what do you say? A movie, dinner, dancing, a romantic vacation where we elope and end up happily ever after?"

Clara's face went very, very red. She smiled. "Oh, why, thank you," she said, flattered. "It's just that…I'm not really looking for a relationship right now."

"Or ever. She's not looking for a relationship _ever_," Kouta said tightly, his tone sharp.

Clara whirled on him. "Since when did you become my father?"

They resumed their usual bickering. Lily tried to suppress her jealousy. Was Clara really so pretty that Brock felt the need to hit on her? Furthermore, was there something wrong with _her_ appearance? When Eevee rubbed her head against Lily's leg affectionately, she realized it didn't matter. Becoming a Pokemon master was _way_ more important than getting a date!

"Oh, well, I guess this goodbye then," Brock said, crestfallen. He tried one more time with Clara. "But there's something extremely romantic about long distance relationships, isn't there?"

"We really should go," Lily said.

"Yes, we're leaving right now at this very moment," said Kouta.

* * *

Kouta, Lily, and Clara sat down at a restaurant for their celebratory dinner.

"What's wrong, Lily?" Clara asked. "You haven't said a word all night. I thought you'd be happy."

"I am," Lily said, pushing the food around her plate with her fork. "It's just that, well, honestly my victory feels like a bit of a fluke."

"A fluke," said Clara surprised. "Why?"

"I mean I had the right strategy with Eevee but it wasn't enough. At least…it wasn't enough until Eevee was able to learn dig by watching Geodude. That has nothing to do with me, you know? And then Squirtle was inspired by Eevee and wanted to battle…" Lily's voice trailed off.

"Cut that out, Lily!" Clara said. "You won fair and square."

Kouta nodded in agreement. "Lily, we were way too doubtful of you. You inspired strength in both Squirtle and Eevee and you never gave up on them either. That's something worth being proud of. And Pokemon battling is a tough skill. It takes a good trainer and a good Pokemon working hand in hand to win. Eevee needed your strategic thinking as much as you needed her adaptability to beat Geodude. Just take the win with grace."

Lily smiled and then nodded. "Thanks, you guys." She smirked teasingly. "You know, I'm getting awfully close to you both. I might be in trouble."

Kouta returned the smile. "Better stay close to us. To get to the next city we have to travel through Mt. Moon. That is one trip you don't want to go on alone."

"As long as I don't get a fresh coating of bug bites. I'm okay," Clara said.

"Yes, but we will get lost. It's almost like a Mt. Moon rite of passage."

"Hey, Mr. Negative! Let's celebrate Lily's victory and worry about that later!"

"For once, you're right." Kouta raised his glass. "Cheers, Lily."

Lily smiled and raised her own glass. Clara followed suit.

"All right!" Clara said.

_"Cheers!"_they all exclaimed, and their glasses clinked together.

**Next Chapter: (I don't have a title yet) Clara, Lily, and Kouta begin their trek through Mt. Moon, but an unpleasant visit from Team Rocket might slow them down...**


	5. Lucy

**A/N: 1. With the exception of gym battle chapters, from here on out I think I'm going to try to make the chapters a little shorter (which is why the preview in the last chapter actually has nothing to do with this chapter's story). There's just a _lot_ to cover and I don't want the pacing to drag.**

**2. I've been spelling "Poke Ball" wrong up until this point (I wrote "Pokeball". My bad. From here on out I'll get it right. Will go back and fix it eventually but I'm very lazy.**

**3. I still accept OC by the way. If you want to submit one jump back to chapter 2 where I have the rules listed.**

Trainer: Lily

Chapter 5: Lucy

That night after dinner the trio returned to Pewter City's Pokemon Center for the night, knowing it was better to start the long journey through Mt. Moon tomorrow morning. Lily, exhausted from her battle with Brock, had expected to fall asleep right away. Instead she found herself huddled under her blanket with a flashlight, staring at her Boulder Badge. Eventually she dozed off.

The next morning she woke up and braided her hair into two separate braids as usual. With Clara and Kouta still asleep, Lily went to the cafeteria on her own for breakfast. As she headed out the door she felt a tap on her heels.

"Huh?" Lily turned around and bent down. Eevee was there. Lily hadn't heard her break free from her Poke Ball. She smiled and ruffled the top of Eevee's head. "Morning, Eevee," she whispered so that her friends wouldn't awaken. "Want some breakfast?"

_ "Eevee!"_

Lily scooped Eevee into her arms. When they arrived at the breakfast buffet she crawled out of Lily's arms and rested on her shoulder so that she may serve herself some food.

"There you go, Blitz! Eat up!"

_Blitz?_ Lily followed the sound and saw a girl petting a Flareon as she ate.

"Flareon!" Lily exclaimed eagerly to herself. She knew all about the Eevee evolutions, having studied up on them rigorously when she first acquired Eevee. Even so, Lily flipped open her Pokedex and scanned Blitz.

_Flareon, the flame Pokemon and an evolved form of Eevee. It has a flame chamber inside its body. It inhales, then blows out fire that is over 3,000F degrees._

Lily, her breakfast now completely forgotten, approached the other girl. "Your Flareon is awesome!"

The other girl looked up and smiled. She was rather skinny, and wore a baggy purple hoodie, black jeans, and white combat boots. Like Clara, her hair was tied into a high ponytail, only it was brown rather than blonde and, Lily could tell, much longer than Clara's. Her eyes were blue, like ice.

"Thank you! Your Eevee is absolutely adorable!"

"Thanks! I've had her for forever."

"Really? Have you thought about what you want to evolve her into?"

Lily glanced at Eevee. She hadn't heard; she was too busy conversing with Blitz. "Well, before we started training, she was just a pet so, no. I haven't given it much thought. I'd like for Eevee to evolve but not if she doesn't want to."

"That's the right way to go about. Blitz here knew from the start she wanted to be a Flareon and I was happy to evolve her."

"My name is Lily, by the way. Lily Rockwell."

The girl jumped to her feet eagerly. "I'm Lucy Salvador. It's great to meet you!"

Lily held out her hand. Lucy shifted a little before shaking it, causing Lily to raise her eyebrows curiously.

"I'm sorry. I'm totally blind in my right eye, so I adjust without even thinking."

"Oh?"

"Lily!" Lily whirled around. Clara and Kouta had already gotten breakfast.

"Hey, guys. This is Lucy. She has a really cute Flareon." Lily's stomach protested angrily. "I really need to get breakfast. I'll be right back."

She left Kouta and Clara to introduce themselves to Lucy. As Lily piled food onto her plate, she thought long and hard about Eevee and her evolution options. Was it too soon to bring it up to her? If Brock was any indication, Lily had an awful lot of training to do for the next seven gym battles. Evolving Eevee would not only make her stronger, but Lily could work off whatever type advantage her final form would give them. But the last thing Lily wanted was to pressure Eevee.

When Lily returned to her table Clara was chatting amiably with Lucy. Clara had wide eyes and was staring at the other girl a bit worriedly. When Lily got closer she understood why.

"Oh, yes, the second Friday of each month I make sure _not_ to sleep and God forbid I let my Pokemon sleep! That's when _they_ get to you," she said grimly.

"And, uh, who's 'they'?"

Lucy chuckled. "You know who _they_ are."

"Ghost Pokemon?"

Lucy shook her head stubbornly. "Oh, no, _they're_ much worse."

"Wow…you're _awesome! _Hey, Lily, Lucy just offered to take the trek through Mt. Moon with us," Clara exclaimed.

Lily nodded. "That's great. Four is better than three."

"Exactly! And since I need to get the Cascade Badge next I have to get to Cerulean City."

"Me too."

"My older brother lives there so I even have a place to stay." Lucy lifted her legs and rested them on the back of the empty chair in front of her. "But before I go," said Lucy, "I want to visit the museum."

"The museum?"

Kouta looked up from his breakfast. "You mean the Pewter City Museum of Science?"

"You bet!" Lucy said. "It's got all kind of cool fossils and amazing information on prehistoric Pokemon!"

"I totally forgot about that! I can't believe this. What kind of researcher am I?" Kouta scolded himself irritably.

Clara smirked. "Not as great as you thought you were, huh?"

Kouta gave her a pointed look.

Lucy slid out of her chair. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go now!"

"Err, okay," Lily said, quickly shoving down the rest of her breakfast. She returned Eevee into her Poke Ball.

Lily, Lucy, Clara, and Kouta headed out of the Pokemon Center. It wasn't until Lily saw Blitz walking by Lucy's side that she said, "Hey, Lucy, why isn't Blitz in her Poke Ball?"

Lucy glanced at Lily. "Oh, did I not mention? Blitz is allergic to Poke Balls. She can't be in them so she stays by my side."

"Err…oh."

Kouta glanced at Lily. "_Where_ did you say you met her?"

"Right where you did! In the cafeteria!"

"She's a little…off."

"I think she's cool," Clara said.

"Of course you do. No surprise there," Kouta muttered.

They all purchased tickets and took a tour of the museum. The group learned all about the ancient Pokemon Omanyte, Kabuto, and Aerodatyl. There was also a very informative exhibit telling them all about the legendary Moon Stone.

"I've always wanted to own a prehistoric Pokemon," Kouta said, in awe as they walked out of the museum.

"You know where I'm from, on Cinnabar Island, there's a lab that uses the fossils to resurrect those Pokemon," Clara said.

"I know!" Kouta said. "But I need to find a fossil first!"

On the outskirts of Pewter City there were a gathering of grasses before the entrance to Mt. Moon. As they walked, Lily nearly stepped on a light brown, scaly rock…or at least that's what it had looked like at first glance.

"That's a Pokemon, isn't it?" Lily exclaimed, gently nudging the Pokemon with the tip of her sneaker.

The Sandshrew twitched violently and rolled onto his feet, staring at Lily fiercely.

"It's a Sandshrew!" she said, scanning it.

_Sandshrew, the mouse Pokemon. Its body is dry. When it gets cold at night, its hide is said to become coated with a fine dew._

"I'm going to catch this! Go, Squirtle!"

"You have a Squirtle?" Lucy asked excitedly.

Squirtle emanated from his Pokeball, then retreated into his shell, promptly staying there.

"He tends to just do what he wants," Clara said sadly.

"Squirtle, fight that Sandshrew! Use your bubble!" Lily commanded.

Squirtle actually got out of his shell and shot a bubble attack at Sandshrew. Being weak to water, Sandshrew was already weak enough to capture.

"Go, Poke Ball!" Lily said, and just like that, Sandshrew was caught.

"That was a fast catch, Lily. What do you say we have a Pokemon battle?" Lucy said.

"Sounds good to me," Lily said. The two girls took their positions. "Go, Eevee!" Lily cried.

"I choose you, Lightning!" Lucy cried.

A small but cute Pikachu entered the battlefield. _"Pika!"_

"Lightning, thundershock!"

A bright, blinding bolt of electricity flashed forward. Eevee expertly jumped out of the way and was able to use the grass as her hideout.

"Quick attack, Eevee!"

Eevee hit Lightning with a fierce attack.

"Quick, Lightning, use tail whip!"

Lightning landed gracefully despite recovering from the hit, jump forward and then did a somersault in midair, bringing his tail up and promptly whacking Eevee. She wailed but quickly scrambled to her feet.

_"Quick attack!"_ both girls ordered simultaneously.

Lightning and Eevee both charged at each other, head on. The eagerly anticipated collision was just about to happen when both Pokemon skidded to a sudden halt.

"Lightning, what's going on?" Lucy asked as Lily said, "Eevee, what are you doing?"

Then the two girls both realized what had happened. The Pokemon had heard it before them. Sirens were wailing, piercingly loud. Several cop cars were racing toward the Pewter City Museum.

Lily and Lucy stared at each other from across the battlefield. "Something's up," Lucy said tensely.

Lily nodded, and both girls just made an unspoken, temporary truce.

Kouta and Clara were also already on their feet. "We better check it out, now," Kouta said.

The four trainers, Eevee, Blitz, and Lightning all raced forward to the museum.

**A/N: Thanks a bunch to LalaynaTheDark for the wonderfully unique character, Lucy Salvador! OCs are fun to work with…although I hope she's okay with me giving her all those quirks. ;) When she sent me the physical description she just sounded so unusual to me I couldn't resist**

**Next Chapter: The group investigates what happened at the museum, which leads them to Mt. Moon (for real this time). **


	6. First Encounter

**A/N: Sorry for the delay in this update! **

Trainer: Lily 

Chapter 6: First Encounter

The woman wore her dark red hair in a short, shoulder length cut. She wore slick black leather with a large _R_ in the center of her shirt. Her shorts were short and her boots went up to her knees. The man, also in dark leathers, had brown hair that fell across his twinkling eyes. Deep within the depths of Mt. Moon they'd made their settlement.

Rounding up the Clefairy had been easy with Wren's Dugtrio. The cave's terrain was rocky enough and Dugtrio was able to throw them off by popping in and out of the ground. Now they were rounded up and ready.

"Ariana, the police should be tailing us you know," Wren said.

Ariana pulled out a Poke Ball, smirking. "Let them come."

* * *

It wasn't hard for the group to trace the blaring bright lights to the cop cars that circled the museum. The structure was surrounded with yellow caution tape. Pewter City's Officer Jenny was issuing orders to her squad using a megaphone, a loyal Growlithe by her side.

"Keep all civilians away from the surrounding area!" her voice echoed loudly just as Lily and her friends approached. Her reddish brown eyes darkened at the sight of the young trainers.

"Didn't you hear what I just said?" she snapped and lifted the megaphone. She shouted right into their faces, _"No civilians!"_

Lily jumped in shock, bumping backward into Lucy and causing a chain reaction. Lucy hit Clara who hit Kouta and the group fell to the ground on top of each other.

"Lily!" cried Clara from underneath Lily and Lucy.

"I'm sorry!" Lily replied. Eevee came over and licked her fingers. She giggled.

"Wow," Lucy said cheerfully, clearly unconcerned about being crushed by Lily and sitting on Clara and Kouta. "Your Eevee really cares about you."

"As touching as this is!" Kouta shouted from the bottom of the pile. "I'm starting to lose air!"

"What's wrong, Kouta? Can't handle the weight of three small girls?" said Clara.

Lily scrambled off of Lucy and turned to Jenny. "Excuse me, Officer Jenny, but what happened here anyway?"

Jenny shook her head regretfully. "Robbers. This was the work of Team Rocket."

"No," Lily said fearfully."

"What did they steal?" asked Lucy.

"Well, that information…uh, miss, are you planning on _getting up_ anytime soon?"

"My thoughts exactly," Kouta grunted. "All right, I didn't was to do this but-" Kouta jerked his back up sharply, sending Lucy and Clara tumbling over.

"Kouta!" Clara snapped, readjusting her blonde ponytail. Lucy's ponytail was also disheveled but she made no move to fix it. Sitting on her knees she leaned in and said to Blitz, "See, Blitz, there were robbers, just like our fortune reading said there would be."

"You believe that crap?" Kouta said as Clara said, "You knew this was going to happen?"

"Well, my visions are often very cloudy so I had no way of knowing when, where, or even how this would happen."

"Officer Jenny, what did they steal?" Lily asked, repeating Lucy's question from earlier.

Jenny sighed. "This is all going to be public knowledge soon enough so I guess I'll just tell you. They stole a rather large amount of the museum's collection of ancient Pokemon fossils and a bunch of Moon Stones. There were customers there at the time but no one called the cops because the robbers held the entire place hostage at gunpoint. My forces are on their trail now. They headed into Mt. Moon, presumably to use all those stones to force Clefairy into Clefable.

"That's not right!" cried Lily, thinking of her Eevee.

"Unfortunately that's the situation we're currently dealing with. We've set up a public announcement warning trainers not to go into Mt. Moon until Team Rocket has been caught and arrested. As for the ones who are already deep within the mountains," Jenny shook her head regretfully. "I just hope my squad can get to them before Team Rocket does."

"Officer Jenny, is there anything we can do to help?" Lily said.

"I'm afraid not. You four just stay away from the scene of the crime. This is no place for four young kids."

"Please, Officer Jenny, allow me to explain," Lucy said. "A vision I had a while ago is suddenly making sense to me. You see, Kouta here is supposed to find a hidden treasure and I know this somehow connected to you letting him help you."

Officer Jenny looked from Lucy to Kouta and then back to Lucy again. "Are you trying to set us up or something?" she barked angrily.

"I swear I have no idea who she is," Kouta said quickly.

Lucy looked horrified. "No, really. That's not what I meant at all!"

"I've had enough of this nonsense! You four, clear out!"

Lucy opened her mouth to object but Clara grabbed her by the wrist and jerked her away.

"I can't believe you went on yammering about fortune telling in front of a cop!" Kouta snapped.

"You know, there are studies done on Pokemon reading the future," Lucy said defensively.

"Well, next time have the evidence to back it up if you're going to talk crazy!"

"I think we should go into Mt. Moon," Lily said abruptly.

"I knew you were going to say that," Clara said with a sigh.

"Think about it," Lily said, "If we go into Mt. Moon knowing Team Rocket is in there we have the opportunity for a sneak attack! We could help."

"And what do you propose we do once we run into a group of professional criminals?" Clara said.

"It isn't as if we won't be _armed_," Lily said, gesturing to Eevee and Blitz. "Besides if we don't get through Mt. Moon…I have no way of getting to Cerulean City," she said quietly.

Clara raised her eyebrows. "Is that what this is about?"

"It's both! Honest. Let's face it, the police could shut down the entrance to Mt. Moon for months if they need to. We should go now before they seal off the entrance to the cave."

Clara placed both hands on her hips and wore a resigned smile. "Okay. I'm in."

"I'm definitely in!" Lucy said.

Kouta shook his head._ "Women," _he muttered, but nonetheless followed the other three to the entrance to Mt. Moon.

Inside the cave it wasn't too dark yet since it was still the afternoon. The lighting was dim and Lily found herself tripping over rocks as she went along.

"I hadn't realized how big it is in here," Lily said somewhat apologetically.

"How are we going to find Team Rocket?" Lucy said.

"Let me handle this. Go, Growlithe!" Kouta said, tossing his Poke Ball. Growlithe barked eagerly upon his release. "Growlithe, sniff around and see if you can pick up on any human scents nearby. Preferably a scent that smells…um, evil?"

Growlithe barked as if to say that he understood and began sniffing the ground determinedly. The four trainers followed him anxiously as he led them through so many twisting tunnels that Lily found herself hopelessly lost. She hoped one of the other three would be able to get them out of this in the end.

Suddenly Growlithe began to bark furiously.

"What is it, Growlithe?" asked Kouta.

Growlithe was glaring at the ground and Lily distinctly heard rocks crumbling. The earth beneath them began to vibrate, then shake so hard that they all had to struggle to keep their balance.

"What's going on?" cried Lucy over Growlithe's furious barks.

The ground in front of them burst open, revealing three small brown moles huddled together.

"That's Dugtrio!" cried Kouta.

With shaking hands Lily reached for her Pokedex.

_Dugrtio, the evolved form of Diglett. A team of Diglett triplets. It triggers huge earthquakes by burrowing 60 miles underground. _

"Earthquakes?" cried Lily.

"Blitz, take down that Dugtrio!" cried Lucy.

"Help her out, Growlithe!" cried Kouta.

Blitz and Growlithe stood side by side and both shot a powerful ember toward the Dugtrio. Dugtrio buried underground, moving so fast that none of them could keep up. The tremors were so forceful they all began to fall over again.

When Dugtrio finally emerged, Blitz used flamethrower, successfully burning Dugtrio.

"Nice shot, Blitz!" Lucy said. "Now use…what the-" She froze, suddenly stiff. Her icy blue eyes were wide, fearful.

"Lucy, what are you doing?" cried Clara from behind her and then immediately after she realized what was wrong.

Lucy was paralyzed. She only knew that because she was now paralyzed along with Kouta and Lily.

"I c-can't m-move," Lily said.

"Is it a P-Pokemon?" said Kouta.

And then, eerily floating from one of the tunnels was a Magnemite. Bright yellow electric shock waves were flowing from her body. Following her were a young man and woman. Standing next to the woman was a Poliwhirl.

"Poliwhirl, hypnosis," the woman said. Her voice was cold, but smooth as silk at the same time.

The last thing Lily could remember were bright circular waves coming toward her, and being unable to escape them.

* * *

**A/N: Because of the delay in this chapter, next week I will try to post two chapters to catch up. I can't promise I'll be able to, though. **

**Next Chapter: Lily, Lucy, Kouta, and Clara realize just how serious their situation is after being captured…along with the police. Can anyone escape from Team Rocket's clutches?**


End file.
